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Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. In the Twilight series, it is the Florida city where Bella's mother and stepfather live. Renée tries to convince Bella to move there after the accident in ''Twilight'', but she wants to stay in Forks. In the Twilight series Renée Dwyer and Phil Dwyer decide to rent a house in Jacksonville after Phil gets a job playing on a baseball team. Jacksonville's Minor League baseball team is called the Jacksonville Suns. Bella and Edward visit them in Eclipse and Renée tries to convince Bella to go to school there, but Bella says she would rather drink water than breathe it, referring to Jacksonville's hot and humid weather. and Bella Swan]] Another connection between the movie and the city; Ashley Greene, the actress portraying Alice Cullen in the movie, is from Jacksonville, Florida. Outside the Twilight series Jacksonville is the largest American city in land area in the lower 48 states. Jacksonville is located near the oldest continuously occupied American settlement, St. Augustine. In 2008, its population was 807,815 people. Jacksonville city council is the governing body. The mayor is Lenny Curry. Ashley Greene (aka Alice) lived in Jacksonville until she was 17, when she moved to L.A. Climate Jacksonville has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with mild weather during winters and hot weather during summers. High temperatures average 64 to 91 °F (18 to 33 °C) throughout the year. High heat indices are not uncommon for the summer months in the Jacksonville area. High temperatures can reach the mid and upper 90s with heat indices above 110 °F (43.3 °C) possible. The highest temperature ever recorded in Jacksonville was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 21, 1942. It is common for thunderstorms to erupt during a typical summer afternoon. These are caused by the rapid heating of the land relative to the water, combined with extremely high humidity. During winter, there can be hard freezes during the night. Such cold weather is usually short lived, as the city averages only 10 to 15 nights below freezing. The coldest temperature recorded at Jacksonville International Airport was 7 °F (−13.9 °C) on January 21, 1985, a day that still holds the record cold for many locations in the eastern half of the US. Even rarer in Jacksonville than freezing temperatures is snow. When snow does fall, it usually melts upon making contact with the ground. Most residents of Jacksonville can remember accumulated snow on only one occasion—-a thin ground cover that occurred December 23 of 1989. Jacksonville has suffered less damage from hurricanes than most other east coast cities, although the threat does exist for a direct hit by a major hurricane. The city has only received one direct hit from a hurricane since 1871, although Jacksonville has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions more than a dozen times due to storms passing through the state from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing past the area. The strongest effect on Jacksonville was from Hurricane Dora in 1964, the only recorded storm to hit the First Coast with sustained hurricane force winds. The eye crossed St. Augustine with winds that had just barely diminished to 110 mph (180 km/h), making it a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Jacksonville also suffered damage from 2008's Tropical Storm Fay which crisscrossed the state, bringing parts of Jacksonville under darkness for four days. Similarly, four years prior to this, Jacksonville was inundated by Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne, which made landfall south of the area. These tropical cyclones were the costliest indirect hits to Jacksonville. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 caused damage mainly to Jacksonville Beach. During Floyd, the Jacksonville Beach pier was completely destroyed. The rebuilt pier was later heavily damaged by Fay, but not destroyed. Rainfall averages around 52 inches (1,300 mm) a year, with the wettest months being June through September. Demographics Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, and the twelfth most populous city in the United States. As of the census estimates of 2006, there were 799,875 people, 315,796 households, and 199,037 families residing in the city. However, it is perhaps misleading to compare Jacksonville's population to other major cities. As a result of the 1968 consolidation of Jacksonville and Duval County, most of the suburban communities of Jacksonville were absorbed within the city limits of Jacksonville proper. It may be a more accurate comparison to compare the incorporated area of Jacksonville to the Metropolitan area of other cities. The population density was 374.9/km² (970.9/mi²). There were 308,826 housing units at an average density of 157.4/km² (407.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.48% White, 34.03% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 2.78% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.33% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 4.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The largest ancestries include: German (9.6%), American (9.3%), Irish (9.0%), English (8.5%), and Italian (3.5%). Jacksonville has, as named by the United States Census the 10th largest Arab population in the United States. Also Jacksonville has a large Filipino population, in part related to their tradition of service with the Navy. In addition, there is a large Serbo-Croatian population, located mostly on the south side of Jacksonville, and Russian population. Jacksonville also has a growing Puerto Rican population. Languages As of the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, 88.1% of Jacksonville's population age five and over spoke only English at home while 5.2% of the population spoke Spanish at home. About 3.2% spoke other Indo-European languages at home. About 2.5% spoke an Asian language at home. The remaining 0.9% of the population spoke other languages at home. Tourism In 2008, Jacksonville had approximately 2.8 million visitors who stayed overnight, spending nearly $1 billion. Research Data Services of Tampa was commissioned to undertake the study, which quantified the importance of tourism. The total economic impact was $1.6 billion and supported nearly 43,000 jobs, 10% of the local workforce. Attractions The city center includes the Jacksonville Landing and the Jacksonville Riverwalks. The Landing is a popular riverfront dining and shopping venue, accessible by River Taxi from the Southbank Riverwalk. The Northbank Riverwalk runs 2.0 miles (3.2 km) along the St. Johns from Berkman Plaza to I-95 at the Fuller Warren Bridge while the Southbank Riverwalk stretches 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the Radisson Hotel to Museum Circle. Adjacent to Museum Circle is St. Johns River Park, also known as Friendship Park. It is the location of Friendship Fountain, one of the most recognizable and popular attractions for locals as well as tourists in Jacksonville. This landmark was built in 1965 and promoted as the “World’s Tallest and Largest” fountain at the time. Just east of the fountain is the Jacksonville Maritime Museum, located in an enclosed pavilion on the riverwalk. Their collection includes models of ships, paintings, photographs and artifacts dating to 1562. In 2003, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) opened a 60,000-square-foot (6,000 m2) facility next to the Main Library downtown. Tracing its roots back to the formation of Jacksonville's Fine Arts Society in 1924, the museum features eclectic permanent and traveling exhibitions. In November 2006, JMOMA was renamed Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA Jacksonville) to reflect their continued commitment to art produced after the modernist period. The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) is found on Jacksonville's Southbank Riverwalk, and features a main exhibit that changes quarterly, plus three floors of nature and local history exhibits, a hands-on science area and the Alexander Brest Planetarium. Brest, founder of Duval Engineering and Contracting Co., was also the benefactor for the Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery on the campus of Jacksonville University. The exhibits are a diverse collection of carved ivory, Pre-Columbian artifacts, Steuben glass, Chinese porcelain and Cloisonné, Tiffany glass, Boehm porcelain and rotating exhibitions containing the work of local, regional, national and international artists. Three other art galleries are located at educational institutions in town. Florida State College at Jacksonville has the Kent Gallery on their westside campus and the Wilson Center for the Arts at their main campus. The University Gallery is located on the campus of the University of North Florida. The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens holds a large collection of European and American paintings, and a world-renowned collection of early Meissen porcelain. The museum is surrounded by three acres of formal English and Italian style gardens, and is in the Riverside neighborhood, on the bank of the St. Johns River. There is also a hands-on children's section. The Karpeles Manuscript Library is the world’s largest private collection of original manuscripts & documents. The museum in Jacksonville is in a 1921 neoclassical building on the outskirts of downtown. In addition to document displays, there is also an antique-book library, with volumes dating from the late 1800s. The Catherine Street Fire Station building is on the National Register of Historic Places and was relocated to Metropolitan Park in 1993. It houses the Jacksonville Fire Museum and features 500+ artifacts including an 1806 hand pumper. The LaVilla Museum opened in 1999 and features a permanent display of African-American history. The art exhibits are changed periodically. There are also several historical properties and items of interest in the city, including the Klutho Building, the Old Morocco Temple Building, the Palm and Cycad Arboretum, and the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, originally built as Union Station train depot. The Jacksonville Historical Society showcases two restoration projects: the 1887 St. Andrews Episcopal Church and the 1879 Merrill House, both located near the sports complex. The Art Walk, a monthly outdoor art festival on the first Wednesday of each month, is sponsored by Downtown Vision, Inc, an organization which works to promote artistic talent and venues on the First Coast. The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens boasts the second largest animal collection in the state. The zoo features elephants, lions, and, of course, jaguars (with an exhibit, Range of the Jaguar, hosted by the owners of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Delores and Wayne Weaver). It also has a multitude of reptile houses, free flight aviaries, and many other animals. Shipwreck Island in Jacksonville Beach is the only waterpark in Duval County. It opened in 1995 and changes rides every few years to keep the season passholders coming back. Adventure Landing in Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach are the only amusement parks in Duval County. Jungle Quest, located across from the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, is the only Jungle Quest store located outside of Colorado. Jungle Quest features zip-lines and rock climbing for children. Category:Real world Category:Locations